ERIC Number: EJ1070899
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1040-9289
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Early Numerical Competencies in 5- and 6-Year-Old Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Titeca, Daisy; Roeyers, Herbert; Ceulemans, Annelies; Desoete, Annemie
Early Education and Development, v26 n7 p1012-1034 2015
Research Findings: To date, studies comparing the mathematical abilities of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing children are scarce, and results remain inconclusive. In general, studies on this topic focus on mathematical abilities learned from elementary school onward, with little attention for possible precursors at younger ages. The current exploratory study focused on the important developmental period of preschool age, investigating 5 early numerical competencies in 30 high-functioning children with ASD and 30 age-matched control children: verbal subitizing, counting, magnitude comparison, estimation, and arithmetic operations. Children were examined at 5 or 6 years of age, attending the 3rd and final year of preschool. Overall, rather similar early number processing was found in children with and without ASD, although marginally significant results indicated a weaker performance of children with ASD on verbal subitizing and conceptual counting. Practice or Policy: Given the pervasiveness and impact of ASD on other domains of functioning, it is important to know that no general deficits in early numerical competencies were found in this study. However, some downward trends in mathematics performance were identified in children with ASD, which can serve as the basis for additional research in this field.
Descriptors: Numeracy, Mathematics Skills, Young Children, Autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Comparative Analysis, Control Groups, Experimental Groups, Arithmetic, Computation, Foreign Countries, Statistical Analysis, Correlation, Symptoms (Individual Disorders), Severity (of Disability)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Belgium
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Hollingshead Social Economic Status Measures; Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule; Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A